Doublets: Tolerance

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

Aristotle, Metaphysics (c. 340 – 330 BC)

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Attributed to Voltaire, Essay on Tolerance (1763). The actual quote was written by Evelyn Hall in the book, The Friends of Voltaire (1906) paraphrasing Voltaire’s attitude. An editor for Reader’s Digest misread the passage and assumed the paraphrase was an actual quote. To set the record straight, Hall later wrote: “I did not mean to imply that Voltaire used these words verbatim and should be surprised if they are found in any of his works. They are rather a paraphrase of Voltaire’s words in the Essay on Tolerance — ‘Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.’ ” (Saturday Review, May 11, 1935).